Online but not remote: Adapting field-based ecology laboratories for online learning.

Teaching ecology effectively and experientially has become more challenging for at least two reasons today. Most experiences of our students are urban, and we now face the near immediate and continuing need to deliver courses (either partially or wholly) online because of COVID-19. Therefore, providing a learning experience that connects students to their environment within an ecological framework remains crucial and perhaps therapeutic to mental health.

Does local isolation allow an invasive thistle to escape enemy pressure?

Enemy release often is invoked to explain the success of invasive plants: an invader benefits from reduced attack as it escapes specialized enemies through the invasion process. Enemy release typically is thought of as occurring at large geographic scales, but local-scale interactions may also be important for invader establishment and success. Furthermore, most tests of local enemy release have been conducted over a single year even though release may be a transient phenomenon, especially at small scales.

Comparative impacts of aboveground and belowground enemies on an invasive thistle.

Most research examining how herbivores and pathogens affect performance of invasive plants focuses on aboveground interactions. Although important, the role of belowground communities remains poorly understood, and the relative impact of aboveground and belowground interactions is still debated. As well, most studies of belowground interactions have been carried out in controlled environments, so little is known about the role of these interactions under natural conditions or how these relationships may change across a plant's range.

Sources of Controversy Surrounding Latitudinal Patterns in Herbivory and Defense.

Both herbivory and plant defenses against herbivores have been predicted to increase toward tropical regions. Early tests of this latitudinal herbivory-defense hypothesis (LHDH) were supportive, but accumulating evidence has been mixed. We argue that the lack of clarity might be due to heterogeneity in methodology and problems with study design and interpretation.